Beatles Christmas Messages Recordings

As a special treat for Christmas, I've posted the Beatles Christmas Messages recordings. 

Below are details on each of the recordings and their audio to enjoy. These bring back fond memories.




Each year from 1963 through 1969, the Beatles recorded a special Christmas greeting for their fans. The Official Beatles Fan Club in England sent flexi-discs containing the Christmas messages to its members each holiday season.The American fan club, Beatles (U.S.A.) Ltd., was established in 1964, and for their first Christmas, the American fan club sent fans the 1963 Christmas message on a soundcard, which is like a flexi-disc, but is "printed" on the post card that is mailed. No message was sent to the American fans in 1965 because the tape was not received on time.[Read more →] The Beatles Christmas flexis are very rare, and sell, in excellent condition, anywhere from $200 to $500.


These recordings offer a unique time-capsule glimpse into the personalities and evolution of the Beatles from 1963 through 1969. In the early years, like their appearances in A Hard Day’s Night, even though these messages were scripted by “somebody’s bad hand-wroter” (their Press Agent Tony Barrow), the Beatle’s geniune wit and humor shines through, for example, in 1963, when as John mentions taking part in the Royal Variety show, the boys extemporaneously launch into a whistling version of God Save The Queen, or in 1964, when Paul mentions that they don’t really know where they’d be without the fans, John says, off-handedly, “In the Army, perhaps…”


For older Beatles fans who remember hearing these messages over the years, “these little bits of plastic” are a fond holiday tradition, while for younger Beatles fans they offer a whole new insight into a pop music phenomenon which might never be repeated.


We present the Beatles Christmas Records here as a Christmas present to you from the Internet Beatles Album. Happy Crimble!

 





1963
The Beatles Christmas Record
Released December 6, 1963
Recorded October 17, 1963
EMI Abbey Road Studio 2
Engineer: Norman Smith
Recorded after a session for I Want To Hold Your Hand and This Boy.
About 30,000 total copies were manufactured.
This recording was sent to US Fan Club members in 1964.









 

1964
Another Beatles Christmas Record
Released December 18, 1964
Recorded October 26, 1964
EMI Abbey Road Studio 2
Engineer: Norman Smith
The only Beatles Fan Club Christmas record that played at 45 RPM instead of 33 1/3 RPM.
Recorded on the same day that they recorded Honey Don’t for Beatles For Sale.
US Fan Club members received the 1963 Christmas message this year.







 


1965
The Beatles Third Christmas Record
Released December 17, 1965
Recorded November 8, 1965
EMI Abbey Road Studio 2
Engineer: Norman Smith
Recorded during the Rubber Soul sessions, on the same day they recorded Think For Yourself. Cover photo taken on November 1 during the taping of Granada-TV’s ‘The Music of Lennon and McCartney’.

 


1966
Pantomime (Everywhere It’s Christmas)
Released December 16, 1966
Recorded November 25, 1966
Recorded in the basement studio of Dick James Music in London
Mixed at Abbey Road, December 2, 1966. Produced by George Martin.
Cover designed by Paul.

Some of the historical info on this page is from the books The Beatles: A Day In The Life by Tom Schultheiss, The Beatles Day By Day by Mark Lewisohn and The Price Guide for the Beatles American Records by Perry Cox and Frank Daniels As the 60’s evolve, so do the Beatles, and so do their Christmas records.


The previous year, the Christmas message changed from scripted messages talking directly to the fans, to sketch comedy, mostly Paul’s idea, but enthusiastically joined in by the other three. 1967 brings a similar production, but as the members of the group start desiring to go their separate ways, this is also reflected in the Christmas records, as the final two years bring messages recorded in bits and pieces recorded separately by each Beatle and assembled together later.







1967
Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
Released December 15, 1967
Recorded November 28, 1967
EMI Abbey Road Studio 2
Produced by George Martin
Special guest: Victor Spinetti

The script was written earlier in the day by the band. Last Christmas record the Beatles recorded together as a group. Cover designed on November 29 by John and Ringo.

The song Christmas Time (Is Here Again) was later released on the Real Love single in 1995.

1968
Happy Christmas
Released December 20, 1968
Recorded in November, 1968 at John’s home in London, Paul’s home in London, in the back of Ringo’s van in Surrey, with George in America and at George’s house in Esher during rehearsals for the White Album.
Special guest: Tiny Tim.

Created by Radio 1 disc jockey Kenny Everett who edited together separately-recorded messages from John, Paul, George and Ringo, and inter-cut random fragments from the White Album.

1969
Happy Christmas 1969
Released December 19, 1969
Recorded in fall of 1969 at John and Yoko’s home in Ascot, Ringo’s home in Weybridge, Paul’s home in London, and the London offices of Apple.
Edited by Maurice Cole (Kenny Everett’s original name)
Cover designed by Ringo

Because the Beatles officially broke up in 1970, no Christmas message was prepared for that holiday season.


In early 1971, fan club members were sent an album on the Apple label containing all seven of the Christmas messages.
Pictured is the American version of the LP. The British LP entitled From Then To You included a reproduction of the cover of the 1963 Christmas record.




Along with Let It Be and Introducing The Beatles, this is one of the notoriously most heavily counterfeited of Beatles albums. Counterfeits can be identified by blurry cover photos and an indentation ring much larger than 1 1/2″.

Some of the historical info on this page is from the books The Beatles: A Day In The Life by Tom Schultheiss, The Beatles Day By Day by Mark Lewisohn and The Price Guide for the Beatles American Records by Perry Cox and Frank Daniels.


You can listen to all Christmas Messages here:
https://brunchradio.com/beatles-christmas-messages-all-7/

Below is my previous post of scans of the covers:
http://jfnmusicmemories.blogspot.com/2009/07/christmas-messages-covers.html

You can get the recordings here:
http://teenagedogsintrouble.blogspot.com/2009/12/very-merry-beatles-christmas.html




Source : http://www.ringofstars.ru/across/?p=2767

Listen to all 12 Beatles Christmas Messages in Auto Play + Christmas Songs from John & Paul

For this year, if you would like to listen to a full hour of Beatles Christmas Messages, you can stream them all in great fidelity at the below link. These are the Christmas messages included here:

Beatles - Wish you a Happy Xmas 1963/1969:
1-Crimble medley (BBC Saturday Club 12-21-1969).
2-Christmas time is here again(edit version 1995).
3-From us to you 1963.
4-Another Beatles Christmas 1964.
5-Third Christmas record 1965.
6-Everywhere it's Christmas 1966.
7-Christmas time is here again 1967.
8-1968 Christmas record.
9-Seventh Christmas record 1969.
10-Hello Dolly(1964 outtake).
11-Speech(1964 outtake).
12-Christmas time is here again (full version).

Two more Christmas songs from John and Paul:

From John, Happy Christmas War Is Over, and
From Paul, Wonderful Christmas Time... Enjoy

The Beatles Christmas Messages are available on the below collections along with outtakes:

Listen to the Beatles Christmas Messages: 7 Vintage Recordings for Their Fans: 1963-1969

1963: 

Every year from 1963 to 1969, the Beatles recorded a special Christmas greeting to their fans. It started when “Beatlemania” took off and the band found itself unable to answer all the fan mail.  “I’d love to reply personally to everyone,” says Lennon in the 1963 message, “but I just haven’t enough pens.” The first message was intended to make their most loyal fans feel appreciated. Like those that followed, the 1963 message was mailed as a paper-thin vinyl “flexi disc” to members of the Beatles fan club. The recording features the Beatles’ trademark wit and whimsy, with a chorus of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Ringo” and a version of “Good King Wenceslas” that refers to Betty Grable. It was made on October 17, 1963 at Abbey Road Studios, just after the band recorded “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”





1964:

The band recorded their next holiday greeting, Another Beatles Christmas Record, on October 26, 1964, the same day they recorded the song “Honey Don’t.” Lennon’s rebellious nature begins to show, as he pokes fun at the prepared script: “It’s somebody’s bad hand wroter.”





1965:

Recorded on November 8, 1965 during the Rubber Soul sessions at Abbey Road, the 1965 message features a re-working of “Yesterday,” with the refrain “Oh I believe on Christmas Day.” The band’s gift for free-associational role playing is becoming more apparent. One piece of dialogue near the end was eventually re-used by producer George Martin and his son Giles at the end of the re-mixed version of “All You Need is Love” on the 2006 album Love: “All right put the lights off. This is Johnny Rhythm saying good night to you all and God Blesses.”






1966:

You can sense the band’s creative powers growing in the 1966 message, Pantomime: Everywhere It’s Christmas. The recording was made at Abbey Road on November 25, 1966, during a break from working on “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The Beatles were just beginning work on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band. Instead of simply thanking their fans and recounting the events of the year, the Beatles use sound effects and dialogue to create a vaudeville play based around a song that goes, “Everywhere it’s Christmas, at the end of every year.” Paul McCartney designed the cover.

1967:

This was the last Christmas message recorded by the Beatles all together in one place. Titled Christmas Time (Is Here Again), it reveals the group’s continuing experimentation with sound effects and storytelling. The scenario, written by the band earlier on the day it was recorded (November 28, 1967), is about a group of people auditioning for a BBC radio play. Lennon and Ringo Starr designed the cover.
 

You can listen to the entire Christmas Message for 1967 here:

https://oildale.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/22103423/Beatles-Christmas-Time-Is-Here-Again-1967.mp3





1968:

By the Christmas season of 1968, relations within the Beatles were becoming strained. The holiday message was produced around the time the “White Album” was released, in November of 1968. The four members’ voices were recorded separately, in various locations. There’s plenty of self-mockery. Perhaps the most striking moment comes when the American singer Tiny Tim (invited by George Harrison) strums a ukulele and sings “Nowhere Man” in a high falsetto.





1969:

The Beatles were in the process of breaking up when they recorded (separately) their final Christmas message in November and December of 1969. A couple of months earlier, just before the release of Abbey Road, Lennon had announced to the others that he was leaving the group. Yoko Ono appears prominently on the recording, singing and talking with Lennon about peace. Fittingly, the 1969 message incorporates a snippet from the Abbey Road recording of “The End.”



This post was written by Open Culture contributor Mike Springer.

Christmas Messages Covers- Updated HQ Scans

Each year the Beatles would send a studio message thanking all their fan club members for a wonderful year. Below are the covers for each year from 1963 thru 1969 and a link where you can get them. Enjoy http://returntopepperland.blogspot.com/2006/11/beatles-christmas-records.html


1963 -

1964 -

1965
-

1966 -

1967 -

1968 -

1969 -

The Beatles Bootleg BBC Recordings 1963 on iTunes

 

Review and listen to: The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963

The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 is a compilation album of 59 previously unreleased recordings by English rock band the Beatles, released on 17 December 2013, exclusively through the iTunes Store.[1] While it was initially only available for a few hours,[2] it is currently available again for purchase.[3] The release was timed to extend the copyright of the 1963 recordings under EU law by 20 years – the EU protects recordings for 70 years only if they are formally released.[1][4] Officially unreleased recordings from the band's earlier recording sessions previously entered public domain in 2012.vailable again for purchase.[3] The release was timed to extend the copyright of the 1963 recordings under EU law by 20 years – the EU protects recordings for 70 years only if they are formally released.[1][4] Officially unreleased recordings from the band's earlier recording sessions previously entered public domain in 2012. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_Bootleg_Recordings_1963

The album includes 15 studio outtakes and 42 live BBC Radio tracks, adding to those released previously on the albums Live at the BBC (1994) and On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 (2013).[5] The album also includes John Lennon's demo recordings of "Bad to Me" and "I'm in Love", later released as singles by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas and the Fourmost, respectively.[1]

After something of a false start, Apple Corps/Universal have today issued 59 previously unreleased recordings by The Beatles consisting of studio outtakes and live material from 1963. We should clarify straight off the bat, that this is not a deluxe box set; indeed, it’s not being released physically on any format. Bootleg Recordings 1963 (as this collection is dubbed) is a digital-only affair and can only be bought via iTunes. But hey, it is The Beatles, so coverage here is justified!
The Beatles’ Anthology albums (themselves nearly 20 years old) were the one and only time in the last 50 years that Fab Four studio outtakes have been officially released, so to see something akin to The Holy Grail almost casually uploaded onto (the other) Apple’s iTunes servers takes a while to get your head around.

But that is what has happened. Tracks made available include work-in-progress from Please Please Me and With The Beatles, and early takes of the group’s first (official) UK number one From Me To You and its B-side Thank You Girl. The 1963 version of The One After 909 (which famously went unreleased until Paul and John dusted it down for Let It Be six years later) is another notable inclusion (takes 1&2) in this Beatles Bootleg bundle.

Into total, 15 studio tracks are issued followed by an enormous amount of what you might call Live at the BBC ‘the leftovers’ – tracks recorded at the BBC radio studios that haven’t appeared on the official releases (1994 and 2013) probably to avoid duplication and in some cases because the sound quality is not up to par. So we get three Love Me Dos, four A Taste Of Honeys and a couple of Do You Want To Know A Secrets amongst the 42 Beeb tracks. A special treat at the end of the Bootleg Recordings are demo versions of Bad To Me and I’m In Love, two Lennon-McCartney songs given to other groups (Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas and The Fourmost, respectively).

As a fan of physical media the first reaction is ‘why couldn’t they have released this is a proper box set’, but in truth, the digital domain is somehow a more forgiving environment for this Merseybeat memory dump; running orders don’t need to be fretted over (or are rendered irrelevant by the medium), and no one is going to complain about multiple versions of the same track because you just can just download the ones you want. In short, Apple don’t need to think  about it too much, because the truth of the matter seems to be that they would probably rather not do this at all. The current thinking is that this Bootleg Recordings 1963 release is all about retaining copyright of the material once it’s over 50 years old. Previously released material is now protected for 70 years (in Europe), but unreleased material is not afforded the same protection and becomes public domain. The solution? Release it.

And that is what Apple/Universal have done today. The Anthology projects of the 1990s were studies in planning, hype, marketing, coordination and global brand enhancement. Three multi-formatted double albums spread over a year with the small matter of a six-part companion TV documentary (and later a hardback book). By comparison Bootleg Recordings 1963 is the polar opposite. No hype, no build-up, no advertising, no ‘tie-ins’ – just a bucketful of Beatles’ rarities falling onto the unsuspecting Mop Top fan as they go about their daily business.

If there are no changes in the copyright law, then surely we can look forward to similar Beatles Bootleg recordings in our Christmas stockings over the next seven years. Bootleg Recordings 1963 is released globally via iTunes today and is available to download in many territories already.

Source: http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/beatles-bootleg-recordings-1963/



Track listing
Tracks 1–14 are stereo; the rest are mono.
All tracks written by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted.

Tracklist

1-1	There's A Place (Studio Outtake / Takes 5 & 6)	2:19
1-2	There's A Place (Studio Outtake / Take 8)	1:58
1-3	There's A Place (Studio Outtake / Take 9)	2:04
1-4	Do You Want To Know A Secret (Studio Outtake / Take 7)	2:17
1-5	A Taste Of Honey (Studio Outtake / Take 6)	2:12
1-6	I Saw Her Standing There (Studio Outtake / Take 2)	3:07
1-7	Misery (Studio Outtake / Take 1)	1:54
1-8	Misery (Studio Outtake / Take 7)	1:56
1-9	From Me To You (Studio Outtake / Takes 1 & 2)	3:24
1-10	From Me To You (Studio Outtake / Take 5)	2:17
1-11	Thank You Girl (Studio Outtake / Take 1)	2:09
1-12	Thank You Girl (Studio Outtake / Take 5)	2:04
1-13	One After 909 (Studio Outtake / Takes 1 & 2)	4:29
1-14	Hold Me Tight (Studio Outtake / Take 21)	2:42
1-15	Money (That's What I Want) (Studio Outtake)	2:48
1-16	Some Other Guy (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 26th January, 1963)	2:02
1-17	Love Me Do (Live At The BBC For "Saturday Club" 26th January, 1963)	2:31
1-18	Too Much Monkey Business (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 26th January, 1963)	1:50
1-19	I Saw Her Standing There (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 16th March, 1963)	2:38
1-20	Do You Want To Know A Secret (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 26th January, 1963)	1:50
1-21	From Me To You (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 26th January, 1963)	1:54
1-22	I Got To Find My Baby (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 26th January, 1963)	1:59
1-23	Roll Over Beethoven (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 29th June, 1963)	2:29
1-24	A Taste Of Honey (Live At BBC For "Easy Beat" / 23rd June, 1963)	2:01
1-25	Love Me Do (Live At BBC For "Easy Beat" / 20th October, 1963)	2:29
1-26	Please Please Me (Live At BBC For "Easy Beat" / 20th October, 1963)	2:08
1-27	She Loves You (Live At BBC For "Easy Beat" / 20th October, 1963)	2:29
1-28	I Want To Hold Your Hand (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 21st December, 1963)	2:19
1-29	Till There Was You (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 21st December, 1963)	2:16
2-1	Roll Over Beethoven (Live At BBC For "Saturday Club" / 21st December, 1963)	2:16
2-2	You Really Got A Hold On Me (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 4th June, 1963)	2:54
2-3	The Hippy Hippy Shake (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 4th June, 1963)	1:43
2-4	Till There Was You (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" /11th June, 1963)	2:14
2-5	A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 18th June, 1963)	2:06
2-6	A Taste Of Honey (Live At The BBC for "Pop Go The Beatles" 18th June, 1963)	1:56
2-7	Money (That's What I Want) (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 18th June, 1963)	2:41
2-8	Anna (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 25th June, 1963)	3:02
2-9	Love Me Do (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 10th September, 1963)	2:29
2-10	She Loves You (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 24th September, 1963)	2:16
2-11	I'll Get You (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 10th September, 1963)	2:05
2-12	A Taste Of Honey (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 10th September, 1963)	2:00
2-13	Boys (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 17th September, 1963)	2:12
2-14	Chains (Live At BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" / 17th September, 1963)	2:22
2-15	You Really Got A Hold On Me (Live At The BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" 17th September, 1963)	2:57
2-16	I Saw Her Standing There (Live At The BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" 24th September, 1963)	2:41
2-17	She Loves You (Live At The BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" 10th September, 1963)	2:15
2-18	Twist And Shout (Live At the BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" 24th September, 1963)	2:36
2-19	Do You Want To Know A Secret (Live At The BBC For "Here We Go" 12th March, 1963)	1:55
2-20	Please Please Me (Live At The BBC For "Here We Go" 12th March, 1963)	1:57
2-21	Long Tall Sally (Live At The BBC For "Side By Side" 13th May, 1963)	1:49
2-22	Chains (Live At The BBC For "Side By Side" 13th May, 1963)	2:23
2-23	Boys (Live At The BBC For "Side By Side" 13th May, 1963)	1:53
2-24	A Taste Of Honey (Live At The BBC For "Side By Side" 13th May, 1963)	2:04
2-25	Roll Over Beethoven (Live At The BBC For "From Us To You" 26th December, 1963)	2:17
2-26	All My Loving (Live At The BBC For "From Us To You" 26th December, 1963)	2:06
2-27	She Loves You (Live At The BBC For "From Us To You" 26th December, 1963)	2:21
2-28	Till There Was You (Live At The BBC For "From Us To You" 26th December, 1963)	2:12
2-29	Bad To Me (Demo)	1:29
2-30	I'm In Love (Demo)	1:32

There also appears to be an unofficial bootleg 2-CD version of the recordings. (below)

More info is available here:
https://www.judemacforever.com/blog/bootleg-recordings-1963-2013-the-beatles

PW=arse



Below is a review of the Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963:





You can listen to the entire set below: